Macbeth and the Art of Presentation Zen:
English 10 Final Exam guidelines
Congratulations – you are almost finished with your first semester of English 10! We hope that your eyes have opened up a little more to the wonders of epic stories, Shakespeare, and the world around you. For the final, we have created a two-part project that reflects your ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a text and then demonstrate your depth of understanding in a presentation.
Step 1: The Essay
What is the most interesting aspect of Macbeth? In your essay, you will explore an aspect, character, question, or idea that you feel merits discussion. Avoid simplistic questions like “How does Lady Macbeth manipulate Macbeth?” which can be easily answered. Take a look at some of the examples and helpful handouts below...
Developing a THESIS
Step 1: To generate a few ideas for your paper, ask questions about the text:
1. How has the main character changed?
2. What lessons has he or she learned?
3. What is the central conflict in the work?
4. What is the subject of the work?
5. What does the author say about the subject?
6. Can this idea be supported entirely by evidence from the work itself?
7. Are all the author's choices of plot, character, conflict, and tone controlled by this idea?
Step 2: Determine themes or important ideas that are raised by the text.
(hint: a theme is a something we can learn about the 'human condition' from the text)
Example theme: a good leader does not abuse his/her power
Example idea: Fate
Step 3: State how the theme or idea is evident in the text (this is your thesis).
You need to develop you own thesis for Macbeth, but below is an example from another text:
Example from All Quiet on the Western Front
Step 1: (ask questions) What can we learn from the characters?
Step 2: (determine a theme or idea) War is dehumanizing. - a theme
Step3: (state your thesis) Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.
OR
Here is another way to develop a thesis:
Step 1: Ask a specific question about the text.
Step 2: Answer the specific question about the text (this becomes your thesis).
Example
1. Specific Question: How does war affect Paul (and all humans) in All Quiet on the Western Front?
3. Answer (the thesis): Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.
More helpful information about thesis writing:
A thesis answers an important question about the text.
A MAJOR THESIS: a statement that provides the answer to an important question about the text. For a literary analysis your major thesis must:
(1) relate to the theme of the work and
(2) suggest how this theme is revealed by the author.
(A good thesis may also suggest the organization of the paper.)
➣ Ex. Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.
Sometimes a thesis becomes too cumbersome to fit into one sentence. In such cases, you may express the major thesis as two sentences.
➣ Ex. In a Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens shows the process by which a wasted life can be redeemed. Sidney Carton, through his love for Lucie Manette, is transformed from a hopeless, bitter man into a hero whose life and death have meaning.
Some possible questions that might lead to a THESIS:
How does power corrupt people?
How does blind ambition impact political behavior?
How does superstition affect human behavior?
How can appearances be different from reality? What influences our perceptions?
Why does Macbeth automatically believe the witches? Is it some greater flaw in him, or merely a flaw in the witches?
Macbeth is about various kinds of murder (among other things). Does the play distinguish between honorable and dishonorable violence? Can this very bloody play be seen as a plea for peace and human harmony?
Discuss the nature of the three supernatural beings that foretell Macbeth’s future. What might they be, what clues does Shakespeare provide, and what conclusion (if any) does he allow his audience to come to? Is it possible that the ambiguity was necessary to his plot and themes?
Discuss the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. How does it change and why? To what extent is their relationship the engine that drives the tragedy?
What is the image of manhood that Macbeth presents? What questions does the play raise about the soldier as hero?
Discuss the genre to which Macbeth belongs. Is it tragedy, history, or both? In what way does the play conform to the standard definitions? How does it contradict them?
How does Shakespeare present evil in Macbeth?
At the end of the play, Malcolm calls Macbeth a “butcher” and Lady Macbeth “his fiend-like queen” – is this assessment accurate?
Why is Macbeth, whom we know to be brave and ruthless in battle, so afraid? How does Shakespeare dramatize Macbeth's fear?
How guilty is Macbeth?
Other Ideas and Questions:
Develop an essay that examines several significant consequences of Macbeth's meeting the witches.
Discuss the break between truth and reality in the first three acts of Shakespeare's Macbeth.
The three witches told Macbeth his fate. Did the events in Macbeth’s life occur because of the witches’ prophesy or because of the choices he made? Is it a bit of both? What caused Macbeth to fall: Fate or Free Will? Explain the role of free will in the play. Did Macbeth suffer because of his decisions? Explain the role of fate in the play.
If Macbeth is not heroic in the end, why is the play called Macbeth?
Why does Shakespeare employ imagery throughout the play?
Why does Macbeth (or Lady Macbeth) change so dramatically over the course of the play?
Themes to consider:
Things are not always what they seem
Blind ambition can lead to one’s downfall
Power corrupts
Superstition affects human behavior
Conflicts and Concepts that might lead to a question and a thesis:
-good vs. evil
-loyalty vs. betrayal
-honesty vs. dishonesty
-bravery vs. cowardice
-order vs. disorder
-kingship
-ambition
-the supernatural
-fate
-appearance vs. reality
-innocence
-tragic flaw
-morality
YOUR THESIS MUST BE UNIQUE TO YOU AND APPROVED BY MR. Stephens
Paper Guidelines:
- 750 word limit (approximate)
- MLA format
- No outside sources
- 12 point; Times New Roman
- Default page settings; 1.5 spacing
- Minimum of 4 in-text citations (avoid block quotes)
- Clear thesis
- due date:Paper Due Friday, January 16 @ 8:00am - Submitted to Turnitin.com
Now that you have written a concise essay about an aspect of Macbeth that interests you, you will prepare and give a presentation that demonstrates your knowledge of your topic and your ability to defend your ideas.
Be mindful:
1. The slides in your presentation are about visual story telling that complements your presence and speaking. They are not a script to be acted-out, or a book to be printed and read aloud, word for word.
2. Your Keynote presentation should have a maximum of SEVEN slides and it must be under FIVE minutes!
3. Try to open with something real — an anecdote, a memory, an image, something that grounds your talk in the “right now” and skips the “My thesis is…”. You can always do an introduction second, once you’ve set the tone and gotten people’s interest.
see leads and endings handout
4. Consider sometimes showing images and text that make an orthogonal point to what you’re saying aloud to the audience at that moment. Let them discover the point (or the joke) without you leaning on it.
5. Finish early to allow for questions.
Guidelines:
- Five minute limit (will be timed and stopped even if you are mid-sentence)
- Seven slide maximum
- ONE SENTENCE or QUOTE per a slide
- NO BULLET POINTS (ha, I’m using bullet points right now!)
- ONE NOTE CARD ONLY (cannot have essay with you)
- All images must be original (encouraged) or NOT COYRIGHT PROTECTED cited on a final slide (which does not count against total number of slides. www.creativecommons.org is a great resource to find legal images
-check out this site for links to NOT COPYRIGHT PROTECTED image sites
-how to cite an image: click here
- Keynote enhances your words with visuals and is not text heavy
- Each slide should have a clear purpose and contribute to your point
- Must concisely state and prove thesis with evidence from text and analysis of the text
English 10 Final Exam guidelines
Congratulations – you are almost finished with your first semester of English 10! We hope that your eyes have opened up a little more to the wonders of epic stories, Shakespeare, and the world around you. For the final, we have created a two-part project that reflects your ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a text and then demonstrate your depth of understanding in a presentation.
Step 1: The Essay
What is the most interesting aspect of Macbeth? In your essay, you will explore an aspect, character, question, or idea that you feel merits discussion. Avoid simplistic questions like “How does Lady Macbeth manipulate Macbeth?” which can be easily answered. Take a look at some of the examples and helpful handouts below...
Developing a THESIS
Step 1: To generate a few ideas for your paper, ask questions about the text:
1. How has the main character changed?
2. What lessons has he or she learned?
3. What is the central conflict in the work?
4. What is the subject of the work?
5. What does the author say about the subject?
6. Can this idea be supported entirely by evidence from the work itself?
7. Are all the author's choices of plot, character, conflict, and tone controlled by this idea?
Step 2: Determine themes or important ideas that are raised by the text.
(hint: a theme is a something we can learn about the 'human condition' from the text)
Example theme: a good leader does not abuse his/her power
Example idea: Fate
Step 3: State how the theme or idea is evident in the text (this is your thesis).
You need to develop you own thesis for Macbeth, but below is an example from another text:
Example from All Quiet on the Western Front
Step 1: (ask questions) What can we learn from the characters?
Step 2: (determine a theme or idea) War is dehumanizing. - a theme
Step3: (state your thesis) Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.
OR
Here is another way to develop a thesis:
Step 1: Ask a specific question about the text.
Step 2: Answer the specific question about the text (this becomes your thesis).
Example
1. Specific Question: How does war affect Paul (and all humans) in All Quiet on the Western Front?
3. Answer (the thesis): Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.
More helpful information about thesis writing:
- A thesis answers an important question about the text.
- A very helpful resource: A Guide to the Literary-Analysis Essay.pdf
- A MAJOR THESIS: a statement that provides the answer to an important question about the text. For a literary analysis your major thesis must:
(1) relate to the theme of the work and(2) suggest how this theme is revealed by the author.
(A good thesis may also suggest the organization of the paper.)
➣ Ex. Through Paul’s experience behind the lines, at a Russian prisoner of war camp, and especially under bombardment in the trenches, Erich Maria Remarque realistically shows how war dehumanizes a man.
Sometimes a thesis becomes too cumbersome to fit into one sentence. In such cases, you may express the major thesis as two sentences.
➣ Ex. In a Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens shows the process by which a wasted life can be redeemed. Sidney Carton, through his love for Lucie Manette, is transformed from a hopeless, bitter man into a hero whose life and death have meaning.
Some possible questions that might lead to a THESIS:
Other Ideas and Questions:
Conflicts and Concepts that might lead to a question and a thesis:
-good vs. evil
-loyalty vs. betrayal
-honesty vs. dishonesty
-bravery vs. cowardice
-order vs. disorder
-kingship
-ambition
-the supernatural
-fate
-appearance vs. reality
-innocence
-tragic flaw
-morality
YOUR THESIS MUST BE UNIQUE TO YOU AND APPROVED BY MR. Stephens
Student & Teacher Process Examples:
Essay Example REVISING.doc
Essay Example 2 OUTLINE & REVISING.doc
Macbeth paper quotes.doc
Step3 Macbeth Paper.rtf
Macbeth paper.rtf
Key Resource: A Guide to the Literary-Analysis Essay.pdf
More Resources:
Key Resource: Inserting Evidence in an Essay.pdf
How to analyze literature!.key
Paper Guidelines:
- 750 word limit (approximate)
- MLA format
- No outside sources
- 12 point; Times New Roman
- Default page settings; 1.5 spacing
- Minimum of 4 in-text citations (avoid block quotes)
- Clear thesis
- due date: Paper Due Friday, January 16 @ 8:00am - Submitted to Turnitin.com
Revising:
Revising a Literary Analysis - REVISED Macbeth .pdf
English 10 Final Revising Checklist - Macbeth .pdf
Part 2: The Presentation
Now that you have written a concise essay about an aspect of Macbeth that interests you, you will prepare and give a presentation that demonstrates your knowledge of your topic and your ability to defend your ideas.
Be mindful:
1. The slides in your presentation are about visual story telling that complements your presence and speaking. They are not a script to be acted-out, or a book to be printed and read aloud, word for word.
2. Your Keynote presentation should have a maximum of SEVEN slides and it must be under FIVE minutes!
3. Try to open with something real — an anecdote, a memory, an image, something that grounds your talk in the “right now” and skips the “My thesis is…”. You can always do an introduction second, once you’ve set the tone and gotten people’s interest.
- see leads and endings handout
4. Consider sometimes showing images and text that make an orthogonal point to what you’re saying aloud to the audience at that moment. Let them discover the point (or the joke) without you leaning on it.5. Finish early to allow for questions.
Presentation Examples:
Student Example 1.ppt
Student Example 2.ppt
Helpful Handout on Presentation Zen:
presentation_tips.pdf
Guidelines:
- Five minute limit (will be timed and stopped even if you are mid-sentence)
- Seven slide maximum
- ONE SENTENCE or QUOTE per a slide
- NO BULLET POINTS (ha, I’m using bullet points right now!)
- ONE NOTE CARD ONLY (cannot have essay with you)
- All images must be original (encouraged) or NOT COYRIGHT PROTECTED cited on a final slide (which does not count against total number of slides. www.creativecommons.org is a great resource to find legal images
-check out this site for links to NOT COPYRIGHT PROTECTED image sites
-how to cite an image: click here
- Keynote enhances your words with visuals and is not text heavy
- Each slide should have a clear purpose and contribute to your point
- Must concisely state and prove thesis with evidence from text and analysis of the text
Step 3: The Rubrics
Essay rubric / grading sheet: Macbeth Essay Rubric .pdf
Presentation rubric / grading sheet: Macbeth Presentation Rubric.pdf
Writing Trait explanations: student_version_writing_scoring_guide.pdf
Speaking Trait Explanations: official speaking scoring guide.pdf
Other Resources: